Whiteboard Wednesdays

Youtube Playlist

Every week, Roland, Alyssa and other HCP team members spend an hour interviewing a Pro and answering questions from the community. There’s a wealth of information here – over 29 hours of video uploaded to the YouTube playlist.

The Beginner's Guide to Marketing in Housecall Pro

Getting Help

Blue Chat Bubble should be your first stop for any Housecall Pro questions.

Email: support@housecallpro.com

Phone number: (877) 594-9778

And of course, the Housecall PROs Facebook group is always eager to help.

Membership

How do I become Pro Of The Day?

Send a private message to Jonathan O’Brien to be added to the selection pool. If selected, the Housecall Pro team will optimize your online booking page and mention you in a post in the Facebook group.

What is a a Superpro?

Superpro is a set of Pros who have met requirements set out by the Housecall Pro team. The Superpro program is undergoing some major changes; I’ll update this page when someone from HCP provides more information.

Payments

Why are my credit card payments taking so long to process?

Most credit card processing takes up to 3 business days to reach the bank. For Superpros, HCP has enabled the beta version of Instapay, which can reduce the wait time to minutes instead of days. No word yet on when this will be available to all Pros.

Features & Suggestions

Is there a way to send a mass email to my customers through Housecall Pro?

No. Emails are transactional only. To send mass emails to your customers, you’ll need to use an email marketing tool like Mailchimp or Drip.

Is there a Housecall Pro iPad app?

No. You can install the iPhone app, or use the web app on your iPad if needed.

Is there an upcoming feature list somewhere that I can see?

No. The HCP team is very tight-lipped about what is in development and when it will be available. The product roadmap is only visible to HCP team members.

How do I vote for a feature?

Features are moved up the development timeline by how often they’re requested. In order to have your request counted, be sure to submit your vote in the Blue Chat Bubble.

Integrations

Looking to learn something about Housecall Pro? Check out these resources.

Will Housecall Pro connect to Zapier?

The HCP-Zapier integration is currently in the beta testing phase, which means Pros are using it and reporting bugs to the HCP team for improvement.

Looking to learn more about Zapier? We’ve got you covered with our Intro to Zapier course.

Will Housecall Pro connect with regular Quickbooks?

No. Essentially, the integration would require a lot of work, and the old Quickbooks versions are going to be phased out and unsupported soon anyways.

Right now, we integrate with Quickbooks Online. When you do something in Housecall Pro, it gets pushed to Quickbooks Online.

Quickbooks Desktop is an application that sits on your computer. So, when you do a job on Housecall, Housecall somehow has to reach out to the version of Quickbooks that’s running on your computer and pass that data to it. …there are dozens of versions [of] Quickbooks and Windows… so we basically have to write a dozen integrations instead of the one.

And then there’s the issue of offline mode, like what happens if you’re not running Quickbooks at the time. What to do if your computer is turned off. What if you turn it on and it’s not online and your stuff’s not there.

So basically, Quickbooks Desktop, we’re just going to leave that one alone… don’t use it.

Roland has mentioned in other live videos that Quickbooks themselves have indicated that Quickbooks Online is the direction they’re headed. And as Roland points out later in that same Whiteboard Wednesday, the time and effort that they would put into Quickbooks Desktop integration can be better used on much more impactful features.

That’s about as clear as it’s going to get. Don’t expect an integration with Quickbooks Desktop.

How do I use a third-party email provider like MailChimp?

Integrations with most third-party software can be built through Zapier. To learn more, check out our Intro to Zapier.

More Questions

Why did my tech not see a job I added recently?

Sometimes the mobile app fails to update for several hours. Closing and opening the app seems to fix the problem. To be safe, it’s best to alert your techs to any same-day changes to the schedule.

What is the BCB? / What is the Blue Chat Bubble?

The Blue Chat Bubble is the little blue icon you see in the corner of the desktop app. That allows you to chat with HCP support team. You can also access the BCB through the mobile app by clicking More > Help and Support.

Can HCP send read receipts for invoices?

Yes. You can access this through the Activity Feed.

Are there direct links to online booking for specific services?

Not at this time.

When do notifications get sent?

When you take an action in the mobile app, or in the web app when you have left “Notify Customer” checked.

Is there a way for holidays to automatically be populated in HCP calendar?

Not at this time.

Can I search by invoice number?

Yes! Go to Dashboard > Jobs and use the search box in the top right corner. You can also search by address, phone number, name, customer notes, tags… try it!

This feature is only available on the web app.

How do I get HCP swag?

By becoming an Elite Superpro, by becoming a Superpro, or by being Pro of the Week on the Facebook group.

Does my online booking button count as a conversion for SEO purposes?

Roland says yes.

Should I use X payment processor? They called offering payments super cheap.

Is Housecall Pro down?

Can I save customer notes instead of job notes?

How do I my clients set up the Housecall app so that I’m their preferred contractor?

Have them download the app, then use the custom invite code in the menu. This will add you as their preferred contractor.

Does Housecall Pro give my customer information to competitors?

Roland’s official answer to this question is an emphatic no.

There have been severalposts in the Housecall PROs Facebook group about this. Most of the concern and confusion centers around the Housecall (not Pro) app, which is for consumers. Some Pros have logged in to the Housecall consumer-facing app and seen their competitors.

However, if set up correctly the app should show only your company to your customers, so long as:

They signed up with your invite code, or the email you have for them in Housecall Pro,

Your Instabook settings are configured properly.

Roland has stated several times that the HCP team is moving away from the Housecall app for consumers, and even suggested Pros turn it off.